nature of these fossil remains was unknown. It was supposed by
Messrs. Lindley and Hutton, that the original was an aquatic plant,
having a short dome-shaped trunk, from which radiated numerous long
horizontal branches; and that when the plant was perfect, and the
branches floating on the water, its appearance resembled that of
an Asterias.[20] This dome-shaped trunk is now known to be merely
the base of the stem of the tree. See _Supplementary Notes_, art.
_Stigmaria_.
[Footnote 20: Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Essay, vol. ii. p. 95.]
[Illustration: Plate XXIII.]
PLATE XXIII.
"Great Stigmaria."
(_Stigmaria ficoides_, of Brongniart.
_Ficoidites major_, of Artis.)
The fossil here represented is a fragment of a Stigmaria having
larger tubercles than the species previously described. The tubercles
are oval at the base, somewhat compressed, longitudinally farrowed at
the top, with a pit in the furrow.
This root is from five to six inches in diameter; the axis is seen
near the compressed side, in the transverse section at the bottom of
the figure.
From a sandstone quarry, near Rotherham, Yorkshire.
The specimen figured by Mr. Parkinson, _ante_, Plate III. fig. 1,
appears to be the fragment of a Stigmaria of this kind in ironstone:
the internal axis is seen in the transverse section pressed from its
natural position to near the outer surface.
[Illustration: Plate XXIV.]
PLATE XXIV.
"Crested Aspidiaria."
(_Aspidiaria cristata_, of Presl.
_Sigillaria appendiculata_, Brongniart.
_Aphyllum cristatum_, Artis.)
The fossil here represented is part of the stem of a tree nearly
forty feet long, and two feet in diameter, found imbedded in
sandstone at Banktop, Yorkshire.
The cicatrices of the petioles are obovate, and have a central oblong
crest or ridge; the interstices form deep angular furrows.
The stems with this type of sculpturing, are supposed to belong to a
group of extinct vegetables, which held an intermediate place between
the Sigillariæ, previously described, and the Lepidodendra; together
with the latter, and certain true Coniferæ and arborescent ferns,
these trees appear to have constituted the principal forests of the
Carboniferous epoch.
[Illustration: Plate XXV.]
PLATE XXV.
"Frondose Megaphyton."
(_Megaphyton distans_, of Lindley and Hutton's Fossil Flora of
Great Britain.)
Very large stems not channelled, with regular cicatrices of great
size, arranged longitudinally, occur in the sandstone and grits of
the Carboniferous formation, and are supposed to belong to a tribe of
extinct plants, more nearly allied to the arborescent ferns of our
tropical climes, than to any other existing trees.
The specimen figured is part of a stem ten feet in length, from a
quarry near Rowmarsh in Yorkshire.
This stem has a coarse fibrous surface, furrowed longitudinally; the
cicatrices left by the shedding of the leaves are of a horseshoe
shape with the points directed upwards.
This group of stems has been separated by writers on fossil botany
into several genera, as _Bothrodendron_, _Ulodendron_, &c.[21] In
some of these the scars are five inches in diameter.
[Footnote 21: See Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Essay, plate 56.]
There are many fine examples of these fossils in the British Museum.
[Illustration: Plate XXVI.]
PLATE XXVI.
"Lepidodendron, or Scaly-tree."
(_Aphyllum asperum_, Rough Aphyllum, of Artis.)
"The Lepidodendra (Scaly-trees) are a tribe of plants whose remains
abound in the Coal formation, and rival in number and magnitude the
Calamites and Sigillariæ previously described. The name is derived
from the imbricated or scaly appearance of the surface, occasioned by
the little angular scars left by the separation of the leaves. Some
of these trees have been found almost entire, from their roots to the
topmost branches. One specimen, forty feet high, and thirteen feet
in diameter at the base, and divided towards the summit into fifteen
or twenty branches, was discovered in the Jarrow coal-mine, near
Newcastle.[22]
[Footnote 22: Wonders of Geology, sixth edition, vol. ii. p. 722.]
"The foliage of these trees consists of simple linear leaves,
spirally arranged around the stem, and which appear to have been
shed from the base of the tree with age. The markings produced by
the attachment of the leaves are never obliterated, and the twigs
and branches are generally found covered with foliage. The originals
are supposed by M. Adolphe Brongniart, notwithstanding their
gigantic size, to have been closely related to the Lycopodia, or
Club-mosses."[23]
[Footnote 23: Medals of Creation, p. 144.]
Associated with the stems of Lepidodendra, and oftentimes imbedded
in masses of their foliage, and in some instances attached to the
extremities of the branches, are numerous oblong or cylindrical
scaly cones, garnished with leaves: an imperfect specimen is figured
in Plate IX. fig. 1, and the vertical section of another in Plate
III. fig. 6. These cones have received the name of _Lepidostrobi_
(Scaly-cones), and are the seed-vessels or fruits of the
Lepidodendra.[24]
[Footnote 24: See Medals of Creation, p. 147, and lign. 31, p. 149.]
These fossils often form the nuclei of the ironstone nodules from
Coalbrook Dale, and are invested with a pure white hydrate of
alumina; the leaflets, or more properly bracteæ, are often replaced
by galena, or sulphuret of lead, giving rise to specimens of great
beauty and interest, as examples of the electro-chemical changes
which these fruits of the carboniferous forests have undergone.
The fossils figured in this Plate, are portions of a stem eleven feet
in length, from near Hoyland, Yorkshire. Fig. 1, is from the upper
part, and shows the carbonized scales attached; fig. 2, represents
part of the lower end, in which the scales are decorticated, from the
adhesion of the bark to the surrounding shale.
A. Shows the cicatrix, with its transverse gland that connects the scale,
in the upper part of the trunk.
B. Exposes the interstice between the scales in the lower portion of the
stem.
C. A section of the hollow cicatrix.
[Illustration: Plate XXVII.]
PLATE XXVII.
"Lychnophorite."
(_Lychnophorites superus_, of Artis.)
The fossil figured under the above name by Mr. Artis, is part of a
large branch of a tree, the surface of which is covered with the
cicatrices of leaf-stalks, as in the Lepidodendron. The form of the
cicatrix and point of attachment is shown at B; figure A, is the
restored outline of a leaf.
"Dr. Martins refers the fossil plants of this type to a recent
shrubby genus of syngenesious plants, which cover the plains of
Brazil, and which he names _Lychnophora_, whence he formed this
fossil genus, by changing the termination to _ites_, according to the
common usage."--_Artis._
The specimen represented is in sandstone, from Swinton Common, near
Rotherham, Yorkshire.
This tree seems to be closely allied to the Lepidodendra.
[Illustration: Plate XXVIII.]
PLATE XXVIII.
"Eared Neuropterite."
(_Neuropteris auriculata_, Brongniart. Hist. Veg. Foss. tab. 66.
_Filicites Osmunda_, of Artis.)
The general aspect of this beautiful filicite very much resembles
that of our well-known flowering fern, the elegant _Osmunda regalis_;
the auriculated or one-eared base of the lanceolated leaflets
forms, however, a distinguishing character. It belongs to the genus
_Neuropteris_ (nerved-leaf fern) of M. Brongniart, which comprises
many species of delicately-veined ferns: the veins in this fossil
plant are very fine, arched, and rise obliquely from the base of the
leaflet.
The leaflets are often found detached, and in many instances, though
completely carbonized, are so firm, and so slightly attached to
the shale, that they may be separated by a pair of forceps: when
removed, their impression remains on the stone, as is shown in the
light-coloured part of the figure 2; the form and distribution of the
rib, and nervures or veins, are seen in fig. 3.
From Elsecar colliery.
[Illustration: Plate XXIX.]
PLATE XXIX.
"Trifoliate Sphenopterite."
(_Sphenopteris trifoliata_, Brongniart, Hist. Veg. Foss. tab. 53, fig. 3.
_Filicites trifoliatus_, of Artis.
_Cheilanthites_; from its supposed analogy to the recent genus
_Cheilanthes_. Göppert. _Trans. Academy of Bonn_.)
This is a rare species of fern from the coal shale of Yorkshire,
Elsecar Colliery. It has the leaf or frond tripinnate; the pinnæ,
lobes, or wings, alternate with an odd one; the leaflets are ternate,
with roundish, convex lobes.
This plant has been referred to the tropical ferns, and is nearly
allied to the genera _Davallia_, or _Cheilanthes_; but from the
almost general absence of the organs of fructification in fossil
ferns, it is impossible to refer them with any certainty to living
genera. It belongs to the Sphenopteres, or wedge-shaped-leaf ferns,
of M. Brongniart.
A, shows the cast or matrix of the under side of the leaf; B, the
upper side in relief.
[Illustration: Plate XXX.]
PLATE XXX.
"Milton Filicite."
(_Pecopteris Miltoni_, Brongniart, Hist. Veg. Foss. tab. 114,
_Filicites Miltoni_, Artis.)
This exquisite specimen exhibits part of two leaves attached to the
stem, the under surface of the fronds, on which the fructification is
beautifully displayed, being exposed. The frond is tripinnate, the
stipes large and strong, the leaflets linear with the tip rounded.
The fructification is arranged in lines near the margin; but slight
traces of the venation of the leaflets are distinguishable.
From Milton, in Yorkshire.
[Illustration: Plate XXXI.]
PLATE XXXI.
"Plumose Pecopterite."
(_Pecopteris plumosa_, Brongniart, Hist. Veg. Foss. tab. 121.
_Filicites plumosus_, Artis.)
This elegant fern is characterized by the plumose or wavy character
of the stipes or stems of the fronds, which are tripinnate; the
leaflets are lanceolate and sessile,--that is, are closely attached
by their base, without a stalk. The fructification is seen disposed
near the margins of the leaflets on the left hand upper part of the
specimen.
From the same locality as the last.
[Illustration: Plate XXXII.]
PLATE XXXII.
"Decurrent Filicite."
(_Alethopteris decurrens_, of Göppert.
_Pecopteris heterophylla_, Lindley and Hutton, tab. 38.
_Filicites decurrens_, of Artis.)
The drawing represents but a small portion of the specimen, which
indicated a plant of gigantic size.
"The leaf or frond of this fern is very large, tripinnate or
quadripinnate; the stipes is broad and undulated; the leaflets are
sessile, linear-lanceolate; the ribs pinnate, the secondary ribs
perpendicular to the main rib; the first leaflet on the superior side
of the pinnule adheres by its side to the rachis."--_Artis._
This fern, which closely resembles some recent species, (_Pteris
aurita_,) occurs in great abundance in the shale at Alverthorpe near
Wakefield. Notwithstanding the profusion with which the foliage of
many kinds of ferns is distributed throughout the coal formation,
the undoubted stems of tree-ferns are so rare, that it may admit
of question whether some of the leaves which from the analogy of
their structure to recent forms have been referred to the ferns,
may not have belonged to the stems of unknown trees with which
they are associated in the strata; for as, in the animal kingdom,
distinct types of living organisms are often found blended in the
extinct races, so in the vegetable, it is possible, that foliage and
stems, of apparently discordant types, may have belonged to the same
extinct species or genus of trees. This problem can only be solved
by diligent and continued research in the richest localities of
coal-plants.
M. Brongniart remarks that every bed of coal is the product of a
special vegetation, often different from that which preceded, and
that which followed it. Each bed thus resulting from a distinct
vegetation, is characterized by the predominance of certain
impressions of plants, and the experienced miners distinguish in many
cases the beds they are working, by their practical knowledge of the
plants that prevail.
The same beds of coal, and the deposits which cover it, ought
therefore to contain the different parts of the plants that were
living at the period of its formation; and by carefully studying the
association of these different fossils, forming thus little special
floras, generally of but few species, we may hope to acquire data
by which we may advance the means of reconstructing the anomalous
vegetable forms of the ancient world. M. Brongniart strongly urges
attention to this circumstance in the examination of the coal strata,
with the view of determining the identity of the scattered leaves,
stems, and fruits, in any particular stratum. By such a procedure,
much addition would be made to our knowledge of the entire structures
of many of the fossil plants of which we now only know the fragments.
Thus we may hope to ascertain the foliage of the Sigillariæ,
the roots of which, by a similar method, have but recently been
determined to be the fossils called _Stigmariæ_.
[Illustration: Plate XXXIII.]
PLATE XXXIII.
"Carpolithe, or Fossil Seed-vessel."
(_Carpolithus marginatus_, of Artis.)
The carbonized husks or shells of nuts, and other carpolithes,
or seed-vessels, are not unfrequently met with in the coal and
coal-shale. In the slab of shale figured, there are three specimens
of an oval nut, B, C, which is striated longitudinally. These
are associated with other vegetable remains, among which part of
a Lepidostrobus, the supposed cone or strobilus of a species of
Lepidodendron (see description of Plate IX.), is conspicuous at a.
PART II.
FOSSIL FAUNA.
Plates XXXIV. to LXXIV. inclusive.
[Illustration: Plate XXXIV.]
PLATE XXXIV.
(_Plates XXXIV. to LXXIV. inclusive, are from Parkinson's Organic
Remains._)
Fossil Tubipore, from Derbyshire.
(_Syringopora geniculata_, of Phillips, from the Mountain Limestone,
Derbyshire.)
The specimen figured is a mass of limestone, on the surface of which
is spread out in high relief a delicate tubiporite, or fossil coral,
allied to the Tubipora, or "Organ-pipe coral," so generally preserved
in cabinets of natural curiosities, from the beauty and elegance of
its crimson tubes. The fossil, however, though somewhat resembling
the recent coral in its general form, belongs to an extinct genus.
This Syringopora appears to have been very abundant in the sea
in which the strata of mountain or carboniferous limestone were
deposited, for it forms entire beds of great extent. A beautifully
figured marble results from this coral, when the interstices of its
tubes have been filled up with compact calcareous matter. A small
polished slab is represented in fig. 2. At Matlock, vases, and other
ornamental articles, are made of it; and the sections of the coral
tubes impart considerable variety of figures.[25]
[Footnote 25: Articles of this kind may be obtained of Mr. Tennant,
149, Strand.]
Some slabs of this fossil coral are of a dull red hue, which there
is every reason to conclude is due to the colour of the original;
and not only are traces of the natural tints of the living zoophyte
preserved, but even the animal membrane of the coral; and this may
be exposed by immersing a fragment of the marble in dilute muriatic
(hydrochloric) acid. Mr. Parkinson thus describes the result of his
first experiment:--
"A fragment of the marble (Plate XXXIV. fig. 2) was exposed to the
action of muriatic acid in a very dilute state. As the calcareous
earth was dissolved, and the carbonic acid escaped, I was delighted
to observe the membranaceous substance appear, depending from the
stone in light, flocculent, elastic flakes. Many of these retained
a deep red colour, and appeared in a beautiful and distinct manner,
although not absolutely retaining the form of the tubipore. A
faithful representation of this appearance is given in fig. 3."
This experiment of Mr. Parkinson was highly important, as proving
the previously almost incredible fact, that animal membrane,
when hermetically sealed, as it were, in the solid stone, was as
indestructible as the rock itself. It suggested, too, the probability
that vestiges of other animal tissues might be traced in organic
remains, and encouraged subsequent observers to seek for evidence of
the soft parts of animal bodies entombed in the strata. It was the
first step in the right direction, and led to the detection of many
highly interesting phenomena. In Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Essay
will be found figures and descriptions of the eyes of crustacea: of
the wings, elytra or wing-covers, and the integuments of the body of
insects; of the skin of reptiles; and, in the "Wonders of Geology,"
and "Medals of Creation," of the membranes of the air-bladder,
and of the capsule of the eye of fishes; of the soft parts of the
animalcules called foraminifera, &c. The bodies of mollusca, or
shell-fish, converted into a dark brown mass (_mollushite_), occur
in such abundance in some deposits, as to yield a rich manure from
the quantity of phosphate of lime. The excrementitious substances
termed by Dr. Buckland "Coprolites," are also used for agricultural
purposes.
[Illustration: Plate XXXV.]
PLATE XXXV.
The subjects here figured are Fossil Corals.
Fig. 1. (_Syringopora ramulosa_.) A fragment of another species
of the coral previously described; from the mountain
limestone.
Fig. 2, represents four connected tubes of the recent organ-pipe
coral (_Sarcinula musica_) of New Holland, to show the
structure of this type of Zoophytes. Coloured figures of the
live polypes of this coral are given in Wonders of Geology,
sixth edition, vol. ii. plate vi.
Fig. 3. A polished slab of marble, the white markings in which
are produced by sections of the tubes of the same species of
coral as that represented in fig. 1.
Fig. 4. (_Catenipora escharoides._) The fossil here delineated is
well known to collectors by the name of "_chain-coral_"
derived from the elegant cateniform markings produced by
transverse sections of the parallel tubes, which being of an
oval form, and in close apposition, give rise to chain-like
figures, as shown in figs. 5 and 6. From Dudley.
This fossil coral abounds in that division of the Silurian formation
termed the Wenlock or Dudley limestones, wherever these deposits
occur. The most exquisite specimens are obtained from the Falls of
the Ohio, at Louisville, in the United States of America. A coral
reef of the Silurian epoch here exists in the bed of the mighty
stream of fresh water, almost as perfect as when growing in its
native sea! The river dashes over the entire mass in the season
of high water; but in those periods when the stream is low, the
ridge of coral is exposed, and its surface then presents the most
extraordinary display of Silurian corals, of numerous species and
genera, standing in relief on the more compact masses of the rock.
The substance of the corals, being siliceous, resists the action
of the cataract, while the softer calcareous matter which filled
up the interstices of the tubes, lamellæ, &c. of the zoophytes, is
washed away atom by atom; and natural dissections are formed, which
art would in vain attempt to imitate. Dr. Yandell, of the Medical
College, Louisville, and Dr. Clapp, of New Albany, have splendid
collections from the Falls, which every geologist and intelligent
traveller who visits Kentucky should not fail to examine: the masses
of Astreæ, Madrepores, &c. are so fresh in their aspect, as not to be
readily distinguished from the recent specimens of the same genera
which are placed beside them.[26]
[Footnote 26: See Sir Charles Lyell's Travels in the United States;
and Drs. Yandell and Shumard's "Contributions to the Geology of
Kentucky." Louisville, 1847.]
Fig. 5, is a transverse section of a mass of chain-coral from
Dudley.
Fig. 6. The same, as seen by transmitted light.
[Illustration: Plate XXXVI.]
PLATE XXXVI.
Various Fossil Corals from different Formations.
Figs. 1, 2, 3. (_Cyathophyllum turbinatum_, of Goldfuss.) These
three turbinated or top-shaped corals are referable to a
genus of which many species are exceedingly abundant in the
Wenlock or Dudley limestone of the Silurian System. They
belong to the Anthozoa, or flower-like corals. The living
animal, of which the _coral_ is but the durable earthy
fabric or skeleton, bore a close analogy to the sea-anemone,
or animal flower (_Actinia_), of our coasts. Each of these
specimens belonged but to a single animal: the Cyathophylla
are not, like the tubipores previously described, an
aggregation of numerous individual polypes.[27]
[Footnote 27: For a popular account of the nature of Corals and the
animals which form them, see Wonders of Geology, vol. ii. Lect. vi.
p. 589.]
Fig. 4. A small coral (_Fungia_) from Dudley.
Fig. 5. On this block of mountain limestone there are the remains
of two different kinds of corals. The upper cylindrical part
is a fragment of Cyathophyllum, to the lower part of which
is attached a species of another genus (_Michelinia_).
Fig. 6, is a small coral (_Fungia numismalis_, of Goldfuss),
common in the Oolite.
Fig. 7. A piece of encrinital limestone, from Derbyshire, having
a conical cast--that is, the stone has been moulded in the
interior or cavity--of a turbinated coral (_Turbinolia_).
Fig. 8. A longitudinal section, showing the transverse cells and
lamellæ of the same kind of coral (_Cyathophyllum_) as figs.
1, 2, 3.
Fig. 9. A species of Turbinolia (_Turbinolia complanata_, of
Goldfuss).
Fig. 10. A small turbinated coral (_Turbinolia mitrata_, of
Hesinger), from the Silurian strata of Gothland.
Fig. 11. A Turbinolia from the Silurian deposits of Sweden.
Fig. 12. A remarkable coral (_Petraia_, of Munster), from the
Devonian strata.
Figs. 13 & 14, are sections of Cyathophylla, like figs. 1, 2, 3,
to exhibit the internal structure.
Figs. 15 & 16. Two elegant simple corals (_Caryophyllia
centralis_, of Mantell), from the chalk of Kent. The form
and disposition of the lamellæ of the cavity, as seen at the
upper part of the specimens, are shown at _a_ and _b_.
Fig. 17. A transverse and polished section of a species of
Cyathophyllum, from the Devonian strata, at Blackenberg on
the Rhine.
[Illustration: Plate XXXVII.]
PLATE XXXVII.
Various Fossil Compound Corals.
Fig. 1. A beautiful specimen of Star-coral (_Astrea ananas_, of
Goldfuss), from the Silurian strata of Sweden. At _a_, is
shown "the mode in which, as in proliferous flowers, new
polypes bud from the centre of the parent disk. At _b_, is
represented the growth in the recent _Madrepora stellaris_
of Linnæus."--_Mr. Parkinson._
Fig. 2. An elegant Cyathophyllum (_C. dianthus_, of Goldfuss),
from the Silurian formation of Sweden. At _c_, (the lower
part of the plate,) is shown its probable mode of increase.
Figs. 3 & 6. A columnar compound coral (_Lithostrotion striatum_,
of Lhwyd), from the mountain limestone of Derbyshire;
fig. 3, is a transverse section of fig. 6, showing the
basaltiform arrangement of the columns.
Fig. 4. "A fossil madrepore, from Lincolnshire."--_Mr. Parkinson._
Fig. 5. A very elegant and abundant coral (_Caryophyllia
annularis_, of Parkinson), in the bed termed "Coral Rag," of
the oolite of Wiltshire, Berkshire, &c. Large conglomerated
masses of this branched species form a considerable
proportion of the fossil coral-reef which traverses some
parts of the oolite: and when this bed is worked for road
materials, blocks of this coral, more or less changed into
calcareous spar, may be seen lying on the way-side. Near
Faringdon, in Berkshire, a quarry in the Coral-rag has
yielded many beautiful examples.
Fig. 7. Called "Spider-stone," by Mr. Parkinson. It is a species
of _Astrea_: _d_, is an enlarged view of one of the
polype-cells.
Fig. 8. A beautiful fossil coral, from Transylvania (apparently a
species of Lithostrotion?).
Fig. 9. The specimen figured is from the mountain limestone of
the Mendip Hills. (It is the _Michelinia tenuisepta_, of
Phillips; _Manon favosum_, of Goldfuss?) It is described
by Mr. Parkinson as "bearing somewhat of a honeycomb
appearance."
[Illustration: Plate XXXVIII.]
PLATE XXXVIII.
Fossil Corals, and Coral Marbles.